Monday

The idea of criminal justice reform has been held out for years by Beacon Hill legislators as a worthy and necessary goal, but putting the pieces together has been a difficult puzzle to assemble.

The Senate pressed the last piece into one of the four jigsaw corners in the wee morning hours Oct. 27 after more than 14 hours of debate that tested the constitutions of Democrats and Republicans who might have preferred not to have to have those conversations.

They debated whether mandatory minimums for cocaine trafficking should be repealed, whether young teenagers having sex with each other should be criminal and whether parents and children should be able to testify against one another.

Some of the 162 amendments were decided by one or two votes with Democrats crossing party lines and causing mid-session huddles among like-minded colleagues unaccustomed to the process of whipping votes and wondering whether they could safely predict the outcome.

Sens. Michael Brady, Michael Rush, Kathleen O'Connor Ives and Patrick O'Connor took a pass on the statutory rape reform altogether, voting present rather than weighing in on whether Massachusetts should have a "Romeo-and Juliet" exception for minors close in age.

In broad strokes, the bill that cleared the Senate 27-10 was designed to try to lower recidivism rates and the number of inmates incarcerated in state prisons. It eliminates parole fees, raises the youngest age of juvenile court jurisdiction from 7 to 12 years old and allows for reduced sentences for certain drug crimes.

It's now the House's turn and anyone's guess how the more conservative body will respond. But Sen. William Brownsberger is keeping the faith -- "That's all I'm hearing from the House is seriousness on this issue."

House Speaker Robert DeLeo had a different justice matter on his plate Oct. 27, the day after the Senate debate, as he gathered his leadership team to discuss a column in the Boston Globe written by Yvonne Abraham alleging a widespread culture of sexual harassment under the Golden Dome.

An "infuriated and deeply disturbed" speaker took to the House floor to condemn that acts described anonymously by Abraham, which ranged from unwanted sexual advancements by lawmakers toward lobbyists and aides, to groups of House members viewing pornography on the House floor.

Without allegations with names attached to investigate, DeLeo called on his House counsel Jim Kennedy to initiate a review of the House's sexual harassment polices, but just as the Harvey Weinstein accusations snowballed into other industries and board rooms, this may not be the last shoe to drop on Beacon Hill.

Gov. Charlie Baker and DeLeo, to this point, have enjoyed a relatively drama-free partnership despite being leaders of opposing parties. Their relationship has, at times, frustrated Democratic Party leaders who work more on the political side of the industry trying to build a 2018 case against the governor. But, for the most part, it has worked out well in the building for both men.

However, the ties that bind the two men philosophically began to show signs of strain last week after DeLeo made what seemed in the moment to be a generally friendly overture to the administration to stop delaying the start of a $2 million program intended to form partnerships between UMass and manufacturers.

"I know that I can count on the administration to release these funds soon so that we can begin the program's immense potential and make sure that this program can be realized," DeLeo told a crowd of manufacturers at the State House, with Secretary Jay Ash and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito in the audience.

If DeLeo thought the public overture would help cut through the red tape, he miscalculated.

Not only did the administration say they would not guarantee support for the program, Baker would go a step further and make clear that no "earmarks" approved by the Legislature in the fiscal 2018 budget would get funding until he was confident that state finances were on solid ground.

Some legislators relish the big policy debates that will chart the course for Massachusetts in years to come, but earmarks are a lifeline for local pols who build campaigns around their ability to get that local park project or business incubator off the ground.

"I'm not pleased with that," DeLeo said about Baker's reluctance to green light the manufacturing initiative.

Baker may not be confident in the state's ability to afford a $2 million manufacturing grant program, but he's willing to dip into the Commonwealth Care Trust, which is managed by the Health Connector to improve access to coverage, to pay for the loss of federal insurance subsidies.

The governor continued to urge Congress to appropriate money for the cost-sharing reduction payments (CSRs) that President Donald Trump cut off last week, but indicated that for the remainder of 2017 he was prepared to pay the $28 million out of existing state resources to avoid disruption for consumers.

The speaker may be disappointed about manufacturing, but should be pleased with the fact that the governor isn't using the Legislature as a whipping post for having a somewhat unproductive first year of the two-year session.

Apart from pay raises for elected officials, an annual budget and a rewrite of the 2016 recreational marijuana ballot law, it appears unlikely that the House and Senate will get any other major initiatives across the finish line before the holiday break in mid-November.

Baker's understanding of the time it took to work through the marijuana issues and develop a fiscal 2018 budget helps to spare legislators from having to explain why everything is taking so long, or conversely, why so little is happening.

"We have a couple of bond bills, one's the housing bond bill and one's the DCAM bill, both of which have funding for new projects and programming, but also have some important elements associated with deferred maintenance, and it would be terrific if those could get done before the break," Baker told reporters when asked what he wanted to see on his desk before the recess.

On the campaign trail, Oct. 25 was movie night.

Third District Congressional candidates Dan Koh and Rick Green and U.S. Senate candidates John Kingston and Beth Lindstrom all released videos intended to showcase their strengths, and Kingston gave a campaign kickoff speech at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate to show off his willingness to cross the aisle.

In Koh's case, that was running. With 31 marathons under his belt, Koh let everyone know he was running for U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas's seat by literally beginning a 150-mile jog through the district.

The stunt was reminiscent of Tom Conroy walking across the state in his 2012 Senate campaign, or Tom Birmingham getting on his bike to promote a gubernatorial bid. Andrea Silbert kayaked for lieutenant governor.